By Harry Minium
First things first. The Old Dominion University football schedule released by Conference USA on Wednesday is a palpable sign that ODU is all in to play football in 2021.
ODU did not play this past season in order to protect players, coaches, staff and fans from the pandemic.
But millions of Americans are receiving the new COVID vaccines every week and federal officials say it will be safe for crowds to come back together by mid summer. Everyone at all levels of football are planning to play this fall.
That means you'll once again be able to enjoy tailgating, the wonderful amenities of the renovated S.B. Ballard Stadium and to cheer on your Monarchs.
Have you missed live football as much as I have? The smell of roasting bratwurst and burgers? The fog horn after an ODU touchdown? The cannon booming?
The camaraderie you experience with friends in the stands and suites? Drinking and eating in the tail-gate lots with friends you may not have seen for months or years?
The halftime light show? The marching band? The roar of the crowd on a crucial third down?
I missed it all. I suffered from withdrawal last fall, a little depression actually, because there was no ODU football. So to me, it doesn't matter who we play, just as long as football returns.
But the fact is, ODU has a pretty good slate of home and away games. And it only gets better in future years.
The 2021 schedule will be challenging, in that the Monarchs play a Power 5 team, two ranked in the final Associated Press Top 25 and another ranked much of last season.
"I like that the schedule will be challenging," coach Ricky Rahne said. "I think that brings out the best in people. It improves their focus."
The schedule is also a great one for ODU fans. Each home game is followed by a week off, meaning your weekends won't be impacted back to back. And two road games are easily drivable for ODU fans – at Wake Forest and Liberty.
Let's break it down:
* Rahne's first game will be on a high-profile stage – Friday, Sept. 3 at Wake Forest. The game is likely to be broadcast on the ACC Network, which reaches more than 70 million homes.There is a lot of interest nationally in Rahne, who was Penn State's offensive coordinator before he came to ODU. That means the game is going to get some major media pre-game attention. And Friday night games always draw large TV audiences. "I'm excited about it," Rahne said. "I still remember coaching at Vanderbilt when we opened the season on a Thursday night two years in a row. That was a lot of fun."
*On Sept. 11, the Monarchs open at home against Hampton, a local rival located 20 minutes from ODU's campus. ODU is 5-0 against the Pirates, though many were close games. Former ODU defensive line coach Jeff Comissiong is at HU, as is former ODU assistant coach Marc Bacote, who coaches wide receivers. The Pirates did not play in 2020, so it's difficult to preview their team. But they were 5-7 in 2019, their first season since leaving the MEAC.
* ODU then travels on Sept. 18 to Liberty, likely the best team on the schedule and the first of three consecutive years the Monarchs and Flames play. Liberty was 10-1, beat Virginia Tech and Syracuse on the road and lost by a point at N.C. State on a blocked field goal. The Flames upset Coastal Carolina in the Cure Bowl in overtime. And 20 of 22 starters return.
* ODU then comes home on Sept. 25 to face another nationally ranked team, Buffalo, which was 6-1, ranked 25th in the final Associated Press poll and was fifth in the nation in scoring with 43.5 points per game. The Bulls lost some key players to the transfer portal, but this is a quality program that is among the best in the Group of 5. Another familiar face returns in former ODU quarterbacks coach Ron Whitcomb, Buffalo's scouting coordinator and an offensive analyst.
* ODU then makes the longest road trip in Conference USA when it travels on Oct. 2 to Texas-El Paso, 2,011 miles from Norfolk. UTEP is making progress under third-year coach Dana Dimel, who led his team to a 3-5 record.
* The Monarchs head right back on the road on Oct. 9 when they travel to Marshall, the defending C-USA East Division champion. Marshall fired long-time coach Doc Holliday after the Thundering Herd played poorly in the C-USA championship and Camellia Bowl games. Marshall then hired an intriguing new coach in Charles Huff, the associate head coach and running backs coach at Alabama and a Hampton University alum. Huff and Rahne coached together at Penn State. "He's one of my best friends," Rahne said. "Had COVID not happened I would have gone to his wedding last summer."
* ODU then hosts Western Kentucky on Oct. 16, which is something of a rivalry game. The teams have played close, competitive games as of late that have at times gotten chippy. WKU was 5-7 in 2020, with three losses coming to nationally ranked teams. The Hilltoppers are going all-in on transfers. 247Sports reports WKU has 11 transfers and has signed only two high school players.
* After a much-needed week off, the Monarchs host Louisiana Tech, which has traditionally been an elite Conference USA program, on Oct. 30. Tech was 5-5, with two losses to Power 5 squads, this past season. A year earlier, La Tech was 10-3 and upset Miami in a bowl game. ODU and the Bulldogs have only met once, with ODU winning in 2014 in overtime on a touchdown pass from Taylor Heinicke to David Washington. Coach Skip Holtz is the son of coaching legend Lou Holtz and has two former ODU coaches on his staff – defensive coordinator David Blackwell and wide receivers coach John Allen.
* ODU travels to Florida International on Nov. 6 in a series that's been very competitive, with both schools winning three games. The Panthers were 0-5 in 2020, but the record may be a reflection of the school's COVID problems more than talent. Coach Butch Davis has recruited well. I expect FIU to be much better next season. And playing in the Miami heat can be challenging.
* ODU hosts Florida Atlantic on Nov. 13 and the Owls have had one of the best programs in C-USA in recent years. FAU was 11-3 and won the C-USA championships in both 2017 and 2019. The Owls were then coached by Lane Kiffin, who's now at Ole Miss. First-year coach Willie Taggart had his first four games cancelled and went 5-4, losing to Memphis in the Montgomery Bowl. Taggart came to FAU after being fired by Florida State. He was first hired as a head coach by ODU athletic director Camden Wood Selig when he was then at WKU.
* ODU's last road game is in suburban Nashville, when the Monarchs travel to Middle Tennessee on Nov. 20. MTSU was ravaged by COVID, went 3-6 and did not play its last two games. Most starters return but the Blue Raiders do not have an experienced quarterback. ODU has never beaten MTSU.
* ODU ends the season on the Saturday following Thanksgiving against Charlotte, a program that the Monarchs have built something of a rivalry against. Will Healy has done a great job of building Charlotte's young football program into a winner and the 49ers have won two games in a row against ODU after losing the first three.
Yes, ODU is coming off a 1-11 record in 2019 and has lost 11 in a row. And Rahne is only a year into a rebuilding process that will take a couple of years. But this team will be better than the Monarchs were in 2019.
Rahne has added the two best recruiting classes in ODU history and then added five Football Bowl Subdivision transfers, most of whom will likely start.
The 247Sports recruiting site has ODU's latest class ranked sixth in Conference USA even though the 247 site is missing two key ODU signees. 247Sports has ODU 14 players ranked as 3-star recruits.
There will be ups and downs next season. ODU will have 77 freshmen or sophomores on its roster and will be one of the youngest teams in the country.
The defense should be better than in 2019 and the offense gained three of those five FBS transfers, including quarterback D.J. Mack, the transfer from Central Florida and Norview High alum who was MVP of the 2018 American Athletic Conference championship game.
It's possible, perhaps likely, that ODU will land more transfers later this spring.
LOOKING AHEAD
Spring practice begins in March and you should be regularly checking the ODUSports.com site for updates.
In part because this team is so full of young players and new coaches, I will spend a majority of my time in March and April writing about ODU football.
This spring, you'll see player features and practice updates and a lot of good news on the scheduling front.
We hope to announce games against three or four new opponents, and dates for when Wake Forest and Virginia will play return games in Norfolk. ODU had been scheduled to host both ACC schools in 2020.
Soon, you'll also find out about ticket renewal dates and our new ticket pricing structure. While I'm not at liberty to say much about our new ticket pricing, you're going to like it. There will be very affordable options for attending ODU football games.
Getting tickets this season ensures you'll have season tickets in 2022, when Virginia Tech returns to Norfolk.
ODU has a few more thousand seats than it did at old Foreman Field, but if you recall, the 2018 game against Virginia Tech, when ODU knocked off the No. 13 Hokies, 49-35, was a very tough ticket.
Essentially, if you didn't have a season ticket, you didn't get in Foreman Field unless you purchased tickets on the pricey secondary markets.
ODU also hosts Liberty and travels to Virginia and East Carolina in 2022. It's another challenging and very attractive schedule.
The 2023 schedule isn't complete, but we will have a big-name home opponent yet to be announced. The following season, in 2024, Virginia Tech and East Carolina come to Norfolk and ODU also travels to South Carolina.
As I said, the schedules only get better.
Football has been away from S.B. Ballard Stadium far too long. In seven months it will be back and we'll get a glimpse of Rahne's first team.
Come along for the ride. It will be a season not to miss.
Contact Minium: hminium@odu.edu
Minium: Ricky Rahne Faces a Challenging Schedule in his First Season as ODU's Football Coach
